Method of producing an alloy of copper



i No Drawing.

Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES KAZEMER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM A.

I JONES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METHOD OF PRODUCING AN ALIiOY OF COPPER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES KAZEMER, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Producing an Alloy of Copper, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the preparation of an alloy of copper.

The principal object of the invention is ardness and capability of resisting c0r- IOSIOIl.

In the preparation of the metal of this invention I utilize a coal fire of the usual type, to which copper is added. As the copper melts upon t e coal fire it will pass through the bed of coals and be deposited on the floor of the furnace. These drops of melted copper are then broken up into small pieces and 10% by weight of broken glass added. The glass may be of any desired character which does not contain any material percentage of iron. I wish to keep the metal, at all stages of its preparation, as free as possible from contamination w1th iron.

The mixture of copper and glass is then melted in a clean fire clay crucible. It will be found that the copper in its present state,

melts at about a temperature of 1800 F.

When both the copper and glass have been melted, this mixture is poured out, preferably upon a fire clay surface, in sheets of approximately inch in thickness. When cold these sheets are cut into strips one inch wide, placed on a fire clay floor of a gas or oil fired furnace and subjected to a temperature of approximately 00 F. for one hour. After this treatment, the strips are then taken out and when cool hammered on an anvil down to 4 inch in thickness.

After this treatment the strips are cut up into pieces approximately the size of rice,

Application filed June 11, 1925. Serial No. 36,558.

10% silver and 15% glass, by weight, is added, and the inix melted in a fire clay crucible. It will be found that in this stage of the process the copper alloy will require a temperature of about 2200 F. before fusion takes place.

After fusion the mix is poured out in sheets as before, inch thick and when cool cut into strips one inch wide. These stri s are then placed on the fire clay floor of t e above mentioned gas or oil fired furnace and heated for one hour at approximately 650 F. The next step is the hammering of these strips until they are reduced to inch in thickness and then reduced to pieces the size of peas. These particles are then melted in a fire clay crucible requiring about 3200 F. to reduce the mass tofusion.

From this state the melt may be cast into bars, pigs, sheets, wire, or other form in which it is desired to use the alloy. When the melt has been cast or otherwise formed into workable shapes, they are subjected to heat in a gas or oil fired furnace at approximately 600 F. for one hour. The outside is then cleaned of any adhering oxide or other detritus, by means .of a wire bristle brush, sand paper, sand blast, or other 'desired means, and put in water substantially free from iron for at least nine hours. At the end of this period the metal is in its final form and is read to be worked into any desired shape or or any desired purpose.

This invention is not concerned with the particular type of furnace in .which the metal is to be heated, as this may vary with circumstances, it being only necessar that a furnace be provided in which the esired temperature ma be reached.

I have foun that the final production contains only copper and silver, the glass having gone off as slag in the various fusion operations, removing therewith'any impurities which may have been present.

I have found that knife blades may be made from this alloy.

In addition the alloy will take a hi h polish and when so treated resembles gofd, although it is much harder than old and, therefore, is adaptable to uses to ich gold cannot be put. 4

The metal is highly resistant to corrosion and is, therefore, well adapted to uses to which copper alone could not be put, or any alloy which copper is present in substantial proportions. f

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A method of producing an alloy which consists in the step of melting copper with glass, reducing the melt to sheets, reducing the sheets in thickness by pressure, re-melting the reduced sheets with an admixture of silver and glass, reducing the melt to a sheet, reducing the thickness of the sheet by pressure, and then reducing said sheets to a workable form.

2. A method of preparing an alloy containing copper, which consists in melting the copper with broken glass, pouring out the melt into sheets, subjecting said sheets aeaeoe to 700 F. for one hour, hammering the sheets to half of their original thickness, cutting up said sheets and adding thereto 10% silver and glass, melting the mass, pouring out the melt into sheets, and heating said sheets for one hour at approximately 650 F., hammering said sheets to reduce them in thickness approximately 50%, and re-melting the sheets, casting the melt into workable form, heating the workable forms for approximately one hour at 600 F.-, cleaning the outside and placing the same in water for nine hours.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

GHARLES KAZEMER. 

